“Without swift and bold action by U.S. policymakers to free up a critical national resource — our nation’s airwaves — consumers and businesses in this country will find themselves unable to reap the full benefits of the mobile broadband age.”

“…As the Chairman and other FCC Commissioners understand, spectrum is our industry’s backbone and is what encourages innovation and competition,” said CEO Steve Largent. “The industry needs access to more spectrum so we can continue to meet the growing consumer demand – whether it’s for personal reasons such as health or for environmental reasons such as smart grids”.

The huge price tag dwarfs the $7.2 billion earmarked in President Obama’s economic stimulus program. The task force estimated universal broadband deployment costs would range between $20 billion and $350 billion. The highest figure calls for providing service at 100 Mbps or faster.

The report, prepared to help FCC commissioners develop a national broadband plan for Congress, was prepared after information and suggestions were acquired from about 230 witnesses who presented evidence and opinion at 26 hearings and workshops. In addition to laying the groundwork for the February report to Congress, the report discussed the present state of broadband in the United States.

“Actual broadband speeds lag advertised speeds by at least 50% and possibly more during the busy hours,” according to the report. “Peak usage hours, typically 7 p.m. to 10 p.m., create network congestion and speed degradation. About 1% of users drive 20% of traffic, while 20% of users drive up to 80% of traffic.”

Where will they find spectrum? The DOD is probably worried that they’ll be the first target of opportunity. And why not — the military uses more commercial satellite phone and commercial fixed satellite time than any commercial user. They don’t seem to worry about security using commercial satellite links. With encryption, terrestrial links could also be shared.

The DOD now spends hundreds of billions building proprietary radio networks that just don’t work. With the right plan, lightly used shared frequencies might be used by public service, DOD and commercial users, benefiting everyone.

The CTIA (wikipedia) primarily represents the interests of wireless telecommunications companies. Their board is a mix of service providers, manufacturers and wireless data companies, as well as other contributors to the wireless industry.

Using multiple traffic cameras, for example, and motion capture software, cars are transformed into graphic icons. As they move beyond visible camera coverage, they are mathematically animated along the highway until they reach the next camera. The 3D icons also enable 3D fly-bys. The team have succeeded in mapping the real time movements of cars, people and clouds. Next month, at the IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality, in Orlando, they expect to add weather patterns, birds and river motions.

This August, the city of San Francisco launched an effort to build a publicly accessible database of machine-readable, API-accessible government data called DataSF.org. It can be used by developers to create new mashup apps applications, mixing sites like Google Maps and platforms like the iPhone, with public data.

EcoFinder (left), is an iPhone application that helps residents recycle based on their location. It was built using recycling data released by the city’s Department of Energy.

DataSF.org currently includes more than 100 datasets, from a range of city departments, including the San Francisco Police Department, Department of Public Works, and the Municipal Transportation Agency. Users can search for datasets as well as add tags, ratings and comments to the available data. There’s also an option to request new or additional sets of data.

Mayor Gavin Newsom wrote in a blog post, “We hope DataSF.org will create a torrent of innovation similar to when the developer community was given access to the platforms behind popular technologies and devices like Facebook and Apple’s iPhone.”

The Linux Foundation supports the Linux community by offering technical information and education through its annual events, such as the Linux Collaboration Summit, the Linux Kernel Summit, and the general LinuxCon event, inaugurated in September 2009.

The Meshlium Manager System is the first application made with free software that allows you to configure routers for creating mesh networks, says the company. This software is Open Source and the code is released under the terms of the GPL2 License.

Another organizatin, Open-Mesh, is a group of volunteers dedicated to community-owned WiFi. Their primary mission is to develop WiFi deployment models that are flexible and affordable enough to work in low-income and developing areas of the world, yet powerful and reliable enough to thrive in commercial applications.

The firmware should be open-source. It should contain as little “compiled” code as possible so it can be understood, extended, and modified by users.

The platform should be open to all manufacturers. Not only will we “tolerate” competing products, but we will actively promote and encourage them. All hardware should be easily “reflashable” to encourage modification, extension or even replacement with other solutions.

You should own your own network. Management should be available as a free “hosted” solution, but you should also be able to run your own dashboard, either by writing your own or by using open-source solutions.

Products should be as low-cost as possible so they can be affordable for those that need them the most.

If the goal is free internet access (with or without advertising), then one solution may be unused tv channels (white spaces). They can cover a city block, inside and out. For backbone, the 2150-2180 Mhz band is available.

This resource is unused and costs nothing. Android and Apple demonstrated the untapped creative power of individuals. It has empowered everyone. “Walled gardens” are anathema to this freedom.

“Transit shelters that use photovoltaics, LEDs, and WiFi are going to be standard in the future – and I’m proud that San Francisco is once again acting like the pacecar for other cities by trying and implementing these technologies,” said Mayor Newsom.

Wi-Fi certification signifies that products from different vendors have been demonstrated to interoperate. The Wi-Fi Alliance selected the Broadcom BCM94718 and BCM943224 dual band (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) reference designs to be part of its Wi-Fi CERTIFIED n test bed, which other 802.11n products are tested to guarantee interoperability.

According to ABI Research, 802.11n represented 22% of all Wi-Fi products sold in 2008, approximately 45% in 2009, and will be nearly 60% in 2010. This year, revenue from 802.11n chips is expected to top $2 billion with 90% of Wi-Fi enabled laptops already use 802.11n, says the research company.

Posted by
Sam Churchill
on
September 30th, 2009

The TerreStar Genus dual-mode smartphone, about the size and shape of a Blackberry, gives users the option to access the TerreStar satellite network when the AT&T cellular wireless network is unavailable.

The dual-mode smartphone (pdf) combines GSM, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA terrestrial wireless, through AT&T’s cellular network, as well as Terrestar’s satellite voice and data capabilities, in one small handset.

At $799 for the phone, plus $24.99 a month for satellite connectivity, it won’t be cheap. On top of that charge, voice costs 65 cents per minute, and data is $5 a megabyte. But it’s cheaper than the $1/minute most satphone companies charge — plus you have the cellular option.

The TerreStar Genus phone runs on the Windows Mobile and includes a 2.6-inch touch screen, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. Dual-mode service will be available in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in territorial waters.

Every emergency management office in the country ought to get a dozen of these phones. It’s cheap insurance. Cellular connectivity makes these satphones practical, the satellite connectivity provides reliable coverage almost everywhere.

Public service radio networks and cellular towers WILL go down — when you need them most. Let cellular companies build out the 700 MHz public service infrastructure — not taxpayers. I believe cellular companies encouraged the legislature to build this 700MHz network so they wouldn’t have to.

End of editorial.

With an antenna almost 60 feet across, and supporting 500 dynamically-configurable spot beams, TerreStar-1 will surpass the signal sensitivity and spot beam generation capability of all commercial satellites currently in orbit.

AT&T Mobility will utilize both services; Terrestar’s satellite and AT&T’s terrestrial cellular service by the end of this year. The first handset, which will use separate cellular and satellite chips, will cost about US$700 without a carrier subsidy. It will provide voice service as well as data at approximately 64K bits per second. TerreStar’s major investors are Harbinger Capital Partners and satellite TV company EchoStar.

Low orbit satphones, like Iridium and Globalstar, don’t offer dual-mode phones. Those satellites orbit several hundred miles high, unlike Terrestar, which is a geosynchronous satellite. Terrestar users won’t need a small box, like Inmarsat’s BGAN service (left).

New ABI Research forecasts, some three million satellite-capable LTE smartphones will be shipped in North America in 2012. But, according to the same research, the promising forecast is contingent upon the 4G strategies of US cellular network operators.